morphotype of Vipera berus nikolskii VeDmeDerJa, GrUBanT & rudaeva, 1986, present in the Buzău Subcarpathians, romania

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1 HerPeTOZOa 24 (1/2) Wien, 30. Juli morphotype of Vipera berus nikolskii VeDmeDerJa, GrUBanT & rudaeva, 1986, present in the Buzău Subcarpathians, romania recently, the presence in romania (Central moldavian Plateau) of populations of Vipera berus nikolskii VeDmeDerJa, GrUBanT & rudaeva, 1986, was confirmed on the basis of external morphological studies (ZInenKO et al. 2010); in this paper two single specimens from more western areas of the southern Carpathians (Dâmboviţa and Vâlcea County) were classified as nikolskii morphotypes. The presence of singular specimens bearing nikolskii morphological characters could simply be the result of genetic variability within V. berus berus (LInnaeUS, 1758). However, considering the records geographic position and ecological data, this observation could support the idea of a more extended presence of V. berus nikolskii morpho- and ecotypes in the area. In the present paper, the authors report data from the southern area of the Car - pathian Corner in romania. earlier morphological studies of the vipers from the Central moldavian Plateau revealed their particular status compared to the neighboring Vipera berus berus populations in the Carpathians (VanCea et al. 1982). The vipers from Central Ukraine, moldova and the Central moldavian Plateau (Iaşi and Vaslui County) in romania were considered morphologically almost identical to V. berus nikolskii from the eastern part of its range, whereas the vipers sampled from the eastern slopes of the Carpathians (neamţ, Bacău and Vrancea Counties, romania) were described as of intermediate appearance (ZInenKO et al. 2010). Vipera berus nikolskii was initially included in V. berus berus as the black color morph, and then described as a separate spe - cies by VeDmeDerJa, GrUBanT & rudaeva (1986). Later, the taxon was treated as a subspecies of V. berus according to the biological species concept (e. g., by milto & ZInen - KO 2005), although some authors still consider it a taxon of uncertain status (e.g., BaKIeV et al. 2005; JOGer et al. 2007). milto & ZInenKO (2005) described nikolsky s Viper as a black colored subspecies of V. berus with increased numbers of loreal, ventral, and subcaudal shields, and one or two rows of shields behind the eye and between supralabials and eye. Pre viously, the black coloration of adults was considered a diagnostic character for V. berus nikolskii (VeDmeDerJa et al. 1986). This view changed after the study by ZInenKO et al. (2010) of romanian vipers of the nikolskii type, which included non-melanistic specimens. according to this latter study, in males the numbers of ventral shields, loreal scales, scale rows around midbody and intercanthalia scales (in descending order) had the highest diagnostic power, whereas in females the number of ventral shields, subocular scales, scale rows around midbody, loreal scales, subcaudal shields and circumocular scales were diagnostic. In the vicinity of the village Săsenii pe Vale (Buzău County; square in Fig. 1), a live, partly melanistic female viper was encountered (Fig. 2) in april The occurrence was published by STrUGarIU et al. (2009) as a new distribution record of V. berus in the Carpathian Corner. Closer examination of the viper which was released thereafter, showed some characteristics similar to V. berus nikolskii (Fig. 3, Table 1). Beside its more or less melanistic appearance, signs of a coloration pattern similar to the non-melanistic or partly melanistic specimens of nikolsky s Viper were present. as described by milto & ZInenKO (2005), there are some cases in which the adults of V. berus nikolskii, especially females, have light dots and spots on supralabials and ventrals, and a reddish-brown colored throat. The presence of light dots applied to the previous specimen, but less so the reddishbrown colored throat. How ever, the color pattern of this partly melanistic female was similar to those from V. berus berus x V. berus nikolskii hybrids in which light spotted upper labials, ventral shields and other light elements were registered (ZInenKO & ruzhilenko 2003). Two different morphotypes occur with - in romanian V. berus: typical adders are characterized by the decreased number of scales in the pileus, and a single row of shields around the eye. In the second ( ni- kolskii ) morphotype, the number of small shields on the pileus is increased and two rows of shields surround the eye (GaSC &

2 Beitrag_10_(Seiten89-103_ShortNotes)_SHORT_NOTE.qxd :51 Seite 4 92 HerPeTOZOa 24 (1/2) Wien, 30. Juli 2011 Fig. 1. The location of the viper habitat in Săsenii pe Vale (Buzău County; enlarged detail at left). On the right map, the occurrence of the confirmed V. berus nikolskii populations (yellow circles) and singular nikolskii morphotypes (white triangles) in romania are shown (source: ZInenKO et al. 2010, present study). The question marks indicate two record localities of alleged V. berus bosniensis (BOeTTGer, 1880) in the country (source: FUHn & VanCea 1961). Dark green areas represent the distribution of the 91Y0 Dacian oak and hornbeam forest type in the studied area, and in the central and eastern part of romania. GOUrmaIn 1968; milto & ZInenKO 2005). The pholidosis of the viper from the Buzău Subcarpathians could be categorized as near, not in full agreement with the nikolskii morphotype. In adders, head pholidosis pattern, shape, size, number and arrangement of scales are considered highly variable; even among different populations, mean values of characters vary significantly (milto & ZInenKO 2005). a fragmented, aspis like type of squamation is common in both V. berus nikolskii and V. berus bosniensis (BOeTTGer, 1880), but rare in V. berus berus (milto & ZInenKO 2005). The erroneous description of V. berus bosniensis occurring in romania was based on a morphotype showing fragmented head scalation (e.g. in Ciuc and Ciucaş mountains; FUHn & VanCea 1961). accordingly, one of the authors (FUHn) considered the morph as an abnormal V. berus berus. along the Ukrainian contact zone between V. berus berus and V. berus nikolskii, there is a hybridization area in which snakes have intermediate morphological characters (ZInenKO 2004). a similar contact zone including the presence of intermediate characters in the specimens can be expected also in romania where V. berus berus and V. berus nikolskii may occur in close vicinity in the territory of the eastern Carpathians and in the eastern part of the Southern Carpathians (comp. the maps in nilson et. al. 2005; BaKIeV et al. 2005). However, as pointed out by ZInenKO et al. (2010), also for the contact zone, the possibility of an extreme manifestation of the V. berus berus morphotype cannot be excluded. On the whole, the distributional range of V. berus nikolskii comprises a woodland steppe zone (milto & ZInenKO 2005). In the eastern and central Ukraine, the range of

3 Beitrag_10_(Seiten89-103_ShortNotes)_SHORT_NOTE.qxd :51 Seite 5 HerPeTOZOa 24 (1/2) Wien, 30. Juli Fig. 2: Habitat (grassland with bushes) at Săsenii pe Vale, Buzău County, romania (left), and the investigated viper of the V. berus nikolskii morphotype (right). V. berus nikolskii almost completely coincides with the forest-steppe and broadleaved deciduous forest zone (ZInenKO 2006). The habitat of the specimen encountered in the Buzău Subcarpathians was also a peculiar one (Figs. 1, 2). It is part of a forest-steppe ecotone, which resembles the habitat types occupied by V. berus nikolskii in Iaşi County (STrUGarIU et al. 2009). The habitat lies near to the southern limit of the Getic Subcarpathians, in the Istriţa Hills. The viper was found in a grassland patch characterized by a rich scrub cover, near a farm and a complex vineyard zone (STrUGarIU et al. 2009). The vegetation did not show any sign of agricultural use such as mowing or grazing. The high dry grass from the previous year was lying on the ground. The area is close to the top of a hill (about 310 m a.s.l.) with a southern exposure. The habitat characteristics are similar to the ecotones in which V. berus Fig. 3. Pholidosis and color pattern of head and tail of the female viper of the V. berus nikolskii morphotype from Săsenii pe Vale, Buzău Conty, romania.

4 94 HerPeTOZOa 24 (1/2) Wien, 30. Juli 2011 Table 1: Color pattern and pholidosis of the female V. berus from Buzău Subcarpathians compared to V. berus berus (LInnaeUS, 1758) and V. berus nikolskii VeDmeDerJa, GrUBanT & rudaeva, Sample size in brackets. Color pattern and Pholidosis V. berus berus from the Suceava V. berus from the Buzău V. berus nikolskii from the romanian region (ZInenKO et al. 2010) Subcarpathians (this study) moldova (ZInenKO et al. 2010) Dorsal side of body Characteristic sexual color dimorphism, Completely black Completely black, partly or non-melanimelanistic specimens are rare stic, melanistic specimens are not so rare Dorsal zigzag stripe Present, absent in melanistic specimens absent Present in the non-melanistic morph, absent in melanistic specimens Dorsal side of head Two light lines: one starting as a fusion of white spots on posterior supralabials, continuing towards the neck region in whitish-orange; another, less obvious, on the scales of the temporal region Light spots on head scales White spots (to yellowish in the neck area) on apical, canthal, supraoculars, rostral, prenasals, supralabials and some supralabials Throat Black with white-yellow spots anterior ventrals White-spotted (in general two spots on each ventral) Underside of tail tip 12 terminal scales bright yellow; fragmented, bright colored spots in the central parts of the tail area Iris Orange-reddish Ventralia (females / males) [8] / [11] [15] / [27] Subcaudalia (females / males) [8] / [10] [15] / [27] Longitudinal scale rows at midbody (females / males) [8] / [11] [15] / [27] Supralabialia (females / males) [8] / [11] 19 (right / left: 9 / 10) [15] / [27] Sublabialia (females / males) [8] / [11] 23 (right / left: 11 / 12) [15] / [27] Circumocularia (females / males) [8] / [11] 22 (right / left: 12 / 10) [15] / [27] rows of subocularia (females / males) 0% [8] / 0% [11] double (single in 2 places) / double (single in 1 place) 13.3% [15] / 0 % [27] rows of postocularia (right / left) 2 complete rows / 2complete rows Intercanthalia between apical, canthal and frontal shields (females / males) 5-12 [8] / 6-13 [11] [15] / 4-13 [27] Parafrontalia between supraocular, frontal and parietal shields (females / males) 8-14 [8] / 4-14 [11] 15 (right / left: 7 / 8) 6-13 [15] / 6-16 [27] Lorealia between canthal, circumocular, nasal and supralabial shields (females / males) 4-10 [8] / 4-9 [11] 9 (right / left: 5 / 4) 6-13 [15] / 4-10 [27]

5 HerPeTOZOa 24 (1/2) Wien, 30. Juli nikolskii lives as described by ZInenKO (2006). In this case, the habitat is located right on the limit of the Dacian oak and hornbeam forests (habitat type bearing natura 2000 code 91Y0, DOnIţă et al. 2005). The main tree species of these forests are Quercus petraea, Qu. robur, Fagus sylvatica, Carpi - nus betulus, Tilia cordata and T. tomentosa. a similar species composition is listed by ZInenKO (2006) for the Ukrainian habitats. an interesting feature was the largescale distributional coincidence of the 91Y0 forest type and the sites from where V. berus nikolskii populations, and the nikolskii morphotype, were reported from the Getic Subcarpathians and outside the Carpathians in romania (Fig. 1). From this congruency, new localities of V. b. nikolskii in the distribution range of this forest category could be predicted. In conclusion, the match of morphological and ecological data encountered supports the presence of the V. berus nikolskii morpho- and ecotype in the Buzău Subcar pathians. nevertheless, the systematic status of this population should be verified applying genetic methods. However, even the lack of a V. b. nikolskii haplotype could not exclude the presence of the morph in case of mtdna introgression (ZInenKO et al. 2010), whereas ndna analysis could avoid this uncertainty. The distributional similarity of the 91Y0 forest type and the V. b. nikolskii populations, including the nikolskii morphotype could explain the extent of penetration of V. b. nikolskii to the west along the Carpathian Corner in romania. ZInenKO et al. (2010) considered the penetration improb - able due to the fact that the belt of typical V. b. nikolskii habitats of broadleaved forests is very narrow here; however, the actual distribution of available habitats is wider. acknowledgments: O. 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(2010): Distribution and morphological variation of Vipera berus nikolskii VeDmerJa, GrUBanT & rudaeva 1986, in Western Ukraine, the republic of moldova and romania; amphibia-reptilia, Leiden; 31: KeYWOrDS: reptilia: Squamata: Serpentes: Viperidae: Vipera berus nikolskii, morphotype, Buzãu Subcarpathians, distribution, romania SUBmITTeD: January 28, 2011 authors: Tibor SOS (correspondig author) < tibor.sos@gmail.com >, Zsolt HeGYeLI, milvus Group, Bird and nature Protection association, Crinului, 22, , Târgu mureş, romania.